FAQ: What is the conversion between AWG and the metric system?

AWG or American Wire Gauge is the US standard measure for the diameter of electrical conductors. The American Wire Gauge chart is based on the number of dies originally required to draw the copper down to the required dimensional size. It means the higher the AWG number is, the smaller the wire diameter is. Our Belden cables and the pairs in instrumentation cable are some of the electrical cables where the conductor size is expressed as an AWG figure. Our Tri-Rated cable, compliant with American standard UL758, can be converted to AWG cable conductor sizes if required.

The most common method of referring to conductor sizes uses the cross-sectional area, expressed in mm². The following AWG metric conversion table converts AWG to mm and inches, and also lists the cross sectional area.

AWG Metric Conversion Chart (AWG to mm)

American Wire Gauge (AWG)

Diameter (in)

Diameter (mm)

Cross sectional area (mm2)

0000 (4/0)

0.460

11.7

107.0

000 (3/0)

0.410

10.4

85.0

00 (2/0)

0.365

9.27

67.4

0 (1/0)

0.325

8.25

53.5

1

0.289

7.35

42.4

2

0.258

6.54

33.6

3

0.229

5.83

26.7

4

0.204

5.19

21.1

5

0.182

4.62

16.8

6

0.162

4.11

13.3

7

0.144

3.67

10.6

8

0.129

3.26

8.36

9

0.114

2.91

6.63

10

0.102

2.59

5.26

11

0.0.907

2.30

4.17

12

0.0808

2.05

3.31

13

0.0720

1.83

2.63

14

0.0641

1.63

2.08

15

0.0571

1.45

1.65

16

0.0508

1.29

1.31

17

0.0453

1.15

1.04

18

0.0403

1.02

0.82

19

0.0359

0.91

0.65

20

0.0320

0.81

0.52

21

0.0285

0.72

0.41

22

0.0254

0.65

0.33

23

0.0226

0.57

0.26

24

0.0201

0.51

0.20

25

0.0179

0.45

0.16

26

0.0159

0.40

0.13

If this AWG metric calculator doesn't provide you with the information you need, please get in touch with the technical experts of The Cable Lab who will be pleased to answer your questions or calculate the appropriate AWG/metric size for your installation.

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